Minnesota quarterback Conor Rhoda, right, hands off the ball to running back Kobe McCrary in the second half of an NCAA college football game against Maryland in College Park, Md., Saturday, Oct. 15, 2016. Minnesota won 31-10. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

Conor Rhoda would ask himself questions before sunrise. As a walk-on quarterback low on the Gophers’ depth chart, he wondered if it was worth it to rise before 6 a.m. and trudge across a frozen campus for winter workouts five days a week.

His question: “When is this going to finally pay off for me?”

The Eagan native, who played at Cretin-Derham Hall, joined the Gophers in 2013. The redshirt junior received the answer in phases:

— When he was offered a scholarship on the first day of spring semester in January.

— When he became the backup to senior Mitch Leidner in fall camp in August.

— When he made his first collegiate start Saturday, a 31-10 victory at Maryland.

Pregame, Rhoda tried to let his journey sink in at Maryland Stadium.

“I kept walking out there and looking at the field,” Rhoda said Tuesday. “It was an experience that I will never forget. Definitely, if I get that opportunity to play this week, that will be a whole other experience doing it in front of a home crowd.”

With Leidner listed as “out” on Tuesday’s depth chart, Rhoda is preparing for his second straight start in Saturday’s homecoming game against Rutgers.

Leidner suffered a concussion in the 14-7 loss to Iowa on Oct. 8 and did not travel with the team to Maryland. Leidner has advanced along the protocol to return to play; he planned to participate in light activity at Tuesday’s practice.

Coach Tracy Cleys said it would be difficult for Leidner, who had made 27 consecutive starts since September 2014, to return in time to fully grasp the game plan. The Gophers’ heavy practice days are Tuesday and Wednesday, with Thursday lighter.

“It’s going to be hard for him to take enough reps and do all of that,” Claeys said. “You know, we put a lot more on the quarterback’s plate now than what we have in the past, and you need to practice, so I’m not saying that he won’t, but I think it’s extremely difficult for that.”

Rhoda proved capable against the Terrapins. He completed 7 of 15 passes for 82 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions. He made a “handful” of audibles at the line of scrimmage, including a change that set up Rodney Smith’s 70-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.

“I thought I really did pretty well, especially with it being my first start,” Rhoda said. “I got the same review from the coaches.”

Rhoda said winning a Big Ten road game boosted his belief. “I know it gives the rest of the guys confidence in me, too, so it’s a huge help,” he said.

Rhoda also heard words of encouragement during classes for his business and marketing education degree. “Some of my professors said some stuff at the end of last week, ‘good luck’ and all that,” he said.

In Gophers’ practices, the starting quarterback will take 12 reps to the backup’s eight. “The biggest thing was getting reps with the different guys,” Rhoda said.

That comfort goes from snaps with starting center Tyler Moore to timing with receivers Drew Wolitarsky, Rashad Still and Brian Smith. Rhoda said there might be a little bit better connection with Smith because they were both walk-ons.

Last season, Rhoda didn’t see any game action, spending the fall running the scout team offense to go up against Minnesota’s top defense. He threw one pass in the blowout of Indiana State in September and a pass in the big win over Iowa in 2014. He said he was prepped by former QB coach Jim Zebrowski for the long and sometimes fruitless road of a walk-on.

“It’s one thing to walk on to a Big Ten program, but its another thing to do it as a quarterback,” Rhoda said. “Trying to earn that spot is probably one of the toughest things you can do in college football because they are always going to bring in a quarterback” in each recruiting class.

Last year, the newcomer was Demry Croft of Rockford, Ill., who played in three games in 2015, mostly in mop-up duty. Rhoda beat him out for the No. 2 job in fall camp, and now the Gophers want to redshirt Croft this season.

Before that, Rhoda played behind or with five quarterbacks who have transferred — Philip Nelson, Chris Streveler, Jacques Perra, Dimonic KcKinzy and Dexter Foreman.

Rhoda insists he never really considered transferring. He relied on advice from his parents, Jeff and Mary Sue, as well as former Minnesota QB Adam Weber, now an offensive graduate assistant with the Gophers.

“I wasn’t necessarily happy with the situation was in, (but) I don’t think I ever really, truly thought hard about leaving,” he said. “I love the university as a whole and my family is so close to here and all my extended family is within a half-hour of the Twin Cities. It’s really home for me, and it is the place I wanted to be.”

Claeys said rewarding walk-ons who can help the team is easy because without a scholarship, they’re already playing for the love of the game.

“We try to take care of them,” Claeys said. “Why go and recruit somebody that you think you know, but you really don’t know, when you have a kid whose who’s playing well enough that you do know?”

Andy Greder covers two varieties of football — Minnesota Gophers and Minnesota United, aka the club embarking into Major League Soccer this year. Since joining the Pioneer Press full time in November 2013, he’s also covered the Timberwolves as a beat and spot duty from the Vikings to high schools. He was a part-time breaking news reporter at the Pioneer Press from 2011-13, when he was also a freelance writer and organic farmer. He started at the Duluth News Tribune in 2006, covering sports, news and business until living abroad in 2010.

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